Analysis of Toyota Motors Europe - Case Study Example

Toyota Motors Europe: Analysis of Case study 2008 Introduction Toyota Motor Corporation is a multinational automobile manufacturer based in Japan. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. Founded in 1937, it is the largest automobile manufacturer in terms of number of units sold although it is ranked second in terms of sales value. The group came into existence as manufacturer of textile loops and the automobile business was begun by the founder’s son, Kichiro Toyoda. The company began to grow after the Second World War and began exporting to the United States in the 1950s. The company manufactures the whole range of automobiles, including passenger cars, special utility vehicles, sports cars and commercial vehicles. In the 1970s, the Toyota quality management and lean management practices became phenomena that even western manufacturers began to copy. Over the years, Toyota has become a global company, with the regional offices in North America and Europe working more and more independently. North America is the key market for Toyota although it is also working at gaining market share in other markets, including in Europe. The current President of Toyota Motor Corporation is Katsauki Watanabe. The company is a publicly held one, listed in the New York and Tokyo Stock Exchanges. In 2007, the company had 408,504 shareholders (Toyota website). The vision of the company is laid out in the company’s seven Guiding Principles, more commonly known as the Toyota Way, as follows: 1) “the language and spirit of the law of every nation and undertake open and fair corporate activities to be a good corporate citizen of the world 2) Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and social development through corporate activities in the communities 3) Dedicate ourselves to providing clean and safe products and to enhancing the quality of life everywhere through all our activities. 4) Create and develop advanced technologies and provide outstanding products and services that fulfill the needs of customers worldwide 5) Foster a corporate culture that enhances individual creativity and teamwork value, while honoring mutual trust and respect between labor and management 6) Pursue growth in harmony with the global community through innovative management 7) Work with business partners in research and creation to achieve stable, long-term growth and mutual benefits, while keeping ourselves open to new partnerships” (from the Toyota website). Toyota Motor Corporation is not only one of the major global automobile manufacturers in the world, it is also one of the nine global companies that posted net income of above $10 billion in 2005 (Ichijo & Radler, 2007). The same year, Toyota sold 7.97 million cars globally, of which North America, its main market where it has 13.7 percent share, contributed 2 million units. In 2006, the company planned to manufacture 9 million cars, compared to 5.182 million in 1995. The decade 1995-2006 marked Toyota emerging as a major global automobile manufacturers, with its number of factories increasing from 20 in 14 countries to 47 in 26 countries. In the 1990s, Toyota began expanding in Europe with earnestness although it had been exporting to Europe since 1963 and formed the subsidiary Toyota Motor Europe (TME) (Toyota Worldwide website). In Europe, Toyota has invested Euro 6 billion since 1990, employs 80,000 people directly and through the dealers, supports 28 national marketing companies in 48 countries, 3,000 sales outlets and eight manufacturing plants in France, Pola, Turkey, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom (and a ninth under construction in Russia). In this paper, I will analyze Toyota’s entry strategy into a new customer segment in Europe – for the mini-car Aygo – in the context of the company’s global expansion, particularly in Europe. I will begin with a discussion of the changes in the global automobile industry over the last decade and Toyota’s European venture. Then, I will analyze the external and internal business environment for Toyota in Europe and conduct a SWOT analysis for Toyota Motor Europe. Then, after discussing the strategic issues and problems for the company in Europe, I will recommend certain strategic goals and implementation plan. Global Automobile Industry The global automobile industry has changed significantly over this decade, inducing Toyota to make forays into new markets. In 2006, Toyota and Ford had 11 percent market share of the global automobile industry, trailing the market leader, General Motors, which had 13 percent ((Ichijo & Radler, 2007). However, it must be kept in mind that GM’s market share includes those of its smaller joint venture partners and that Asian automobile manufacturers have a larger market share in the non-passenger car segment. By 2010, Toyota aims to overtake GM as the market leader and its global expansion is geared to that end. A spectacular element in the global automobile industry is the investment that manufacturers from the developed world have been making in developing countries in order to take advantage of lower costs of labor and resources. Besides the rapidly growing consumer markets in the developing countries, these also provide opportunities to spread the value chain of the production process. North American and European manufacturers set up assembly plants in Latin America and east Europe while Japanese manufacturers went to south east Asia (UNIDO). Hence, the erstwhile “multi-domestic” production structure by multinational automakers has given way to a tierization of the value chain in which the lower tiers supply to the upper tiers parts manufacturers (Martin, 2006). Free trade between countries allows companies to sell in multiple countries as well as set up production facilities in accordance to the location’s comparative advantage. Typically, multinational companies today set up production facilities in different countries not simply to take advantage of natural endowments but of a variety of factors like cheap labor, low taxes, lax environmental regulations, subsidies and lower labor standards Till the 1980s, the automobile industry was concentrated in the Triad of countries: 1) North America, 2) Japan and 3) Europe - where the industry had matured and become troubled with excess capacity, cost pressures and low profitability. By the 1990s, only North America continued to be a buoyant industry, as a result of prolonged economic boom, substitution of imported Japanese automobiles by locally made ones and the shift from passenger cars to commercial vehicles like light trucks (UNIDO). While growth in the automobile sector in the Triad countries stagnated in the 1990s, it boomed in the rest of the world, significantly in South Korea, China and India. Yet, despite the shift in the geographical pattern of the global automobile value chain, there is substantial concentration of the industry among a few companies. A handful of companies continue to control the global automobile industry and the bigger companies hold stake in smaller companies. The significant feature of the global automobile industry through the 1990s is the manner in which the leading companies have spread across geographies through joint ventures and subsidiaries. This has been the result of their attempt to capture newer markets as well as to find centers of low cost production. Till the 1980s, North American and European automobile manufacturers were present in Latin America but had little presence in Asia that was dominated by Japanese companies. In the 1990s, there was a dramatic shift. More North American and European auto companies entered these markets while Asian firms like Toyota, Suzuki and Daewoo invested in Europe (UNIDO). Thus, Asian automobile manufacturers like Toyota expanded into the European market more aggressively in the 1990s while also setting up production facilities in East Europe. The dual strategy was to capture a greater share of the European market while supplying from the low cost production bases in East Europe. Toyota’s European venture In 2000, one-third of global automobile production was in Western Europe. Although a severe downturn of the economy affected the automobile industry in Europe in the early 1990s, this was a period that witnessed a reorganization of the industry, with the least productive units shutting down and more productive foreign manufacturers, particularly the Japanese, entering the industry in Europe. Toyota was a major new entrant in the late 1990s. Besides Germany, where 40 percent of the automobile manufacturing in Europe is located, Sweden, Italy, French, Spanish and the United Kingdom have been the traditional automobile producing countries in Europe. Of late, however, global automobile manufacturers are also setting up facilities in East Europe, partly to tap the growing markets here and also to take advantage of the low wage rates. Toyota’s European foray began with the launch of the Yari model in 1999, which became highly successful primarily because of the design as also being an environmental friendly car. Thereafter, Toyota became a technology pioneer in Europe, with the launch of Prius and Lexus, since hybrid models had not yet been launched by the competition in Europe. By 2005, Toyota was the only growing Asian car manufacturer in Europe, with its major markets in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain. Beginning in 1992 with plants in the Czech Republic and Turkey, Toyota began to increase its number of production facilities in Europe, leading to eight plants in six European countries in 2005. Since 2003, the company began an integrated manufacturing and marketing operations for Europe, forming the Toyota Motor Europe (TME). A reverse marketing strategy, with the Avensis, the first UK-made Toyota vehicle launch in the Japan market, began in 2003 (Toyota, 2003). Besides its own units, Toyota entered into a joint venture with PSA, which manufacture Peugeot and Citreon, in 2001. The factory in Kolin in Czech Republic, began to manufacture minicars in 2005, separately sold as Toyota, Peugeot and Citreon brands. This was the first time that Toyota ventured into minicars like Peugeot and Citreon. The three models were quite close to each other and while Peugeot and Citreon were replacing their existing minicar models, Toyota was venturing into uncharted territory. The Aygo model, launched in 2005, was a direct competitor to the small cars from Peugeot and Citreon stable, the latter having experience in selling small cars in Europe that Toyota did not have. However, Toyota embarked in a completely different marketing strategy, aiming the Generation Y, that is potential customers born after 1976. The average age of the Toyota customer in Europe has so long been above 50 years of age and despite the loyalty of this group of customers, Toyota aimed to break into the new customer segment, where it began an aggressive youth-driven marketing strategy. External Environment In terms of the PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological environment) model, Toyota Motor Europe faces a favorable external business environment. The political, legal and economic environment is particularly favorable and stable since the European Union has made doing business in Europe easy. The economy has also revived since the monetary union thus improving the prospects of an automobile manufacturer. However, Toyota faces some resistance from European customers, particularly new ones, since most loyal Toyota customers are over the age of 50. The demographic pattern in Europe, however, favors Toyota as the population is tilted towards the higher age group, which is the main Toyota clientele. Demand for passenger cars is also increasing in Eastern Europe as more new countries have acceded into the Union and incomes in these countries are increasing. The technological environment is conducive to Toyota since Europe, particularly Germany, has a history of automobile research and development. Toyota’s R&D facility in Nice in France is also extremely sophisticated. The socio-cultural environment is favorable but in many European countries, there is limited demand for passenger cars than there is in the United States, because of greater use of public transport. According to Porter’s (1980) Five Forces model, the external business environment depends on the level of industry competition and the intensity of rivalry, which in turn depend on the threat of new entrants into the business and that of substitutes as well as how well the company can manage its buyers and suppliers. The intensity of rivalry between players also depends on the number and size of players, cost structure of the industry, level of product differentiation, customer-switching costs, level of aggression exhibited by players and exit barriers. The threat of new entrants raises the level of competition in the industry. The intensity of competition to a large extent depends on the threat of substitutes. The number of buyers for the product increases the opportunities for the company while its competitiveness vis-à-vis the suppliers of products determine the margins. In Europe, the major European car manufacturers are Volkswagen, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat and Daimler-Chrysler; North American manufacturers are GM and Ford, and the Asian manufacturers are Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Nissan. There is relatively little threat of new entrants since the industry already suffers from over-capacity and the existing companies have had to undergo a series of mergers and consolidations. For example, in the 1990s, Volvo was acquired by Ford; Fiat and GM swapped equity; Daimler merged with Chrysler; Renault-Nissan cross shareholding resulting in an effective Renault takeover and so on (BBC News, 2000). Toyota and the other Asian companies are the relatively new entrants into the European market. Although barriers to entry into the European car industry is high, largely due to the high investments required, the competition between existing players is intense hence the threat from substitutes is high. However, few European manufacturers have been able to match Toyota in the “lean manufacturing” practices that it pioneered, resulting in just-in-time inventory management. Even the US’ three big companies had to face plant closures in Europe as a result of entry of low-cost producers like Toyota. Hence, Toyota has effectively replaced the capacities of the least productive car manufacturers in Europe. The number of independent players in Europe has come down substantially, as a result of a spate of mergers and acquisitions in the 1990s. As costs of production grows on the back of costs of commodities like steel, consolidation among leading players in the automobile market has been the strategic decisions for cost competitiveness of all global players (Wengel & Warnke, 2003). However, the threat from substitutes of some of the models like the Aygo that Toyota has been targeting is high since there are existing models that are close substitutes. The bargaining power of suppliers is limited since Toyota has engaged in constant technological innovation and the suppliers have to adhere to strict design specifications. Besides technological changes as a matter of product development, automobile manufacturers also have to innovate to bring about fuel efficiencies and government regulations for environmental and safety purposes. The bargaining power of buyers in Europe has been increasing since there is a wide choice of models produced by global automobile manufacturers. Thus, in terms of the Five-Forces model, the automobile industry in Europe has a competitive external environment in which the most efficient and cost-effective producer is deemed to success. But, Toyota has over the years established its technological excellence, mainly in terms of its engineering and organizational skills. Hence, it is most suitable to tackle the external competitive environment. The key success factors for Toyota is lean manufacturing resulting in low costs of production and quality management principles. Competition: The global automobile manufacturers, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Daimler-Chrysler, Hyundai and Nissan are the major competitors for Toyota Motor Europe. Particularly in the minicar segment, it also faces competition from its joint venture partner, PSA, which also manufacturers the Peugeot and Citreon, sold in western Europe for years along with Renault’s Twingo. Typically, most of the competitors maintain operations profitability by importing from low cost countries, like for example Fiat Panda which is manufactured in Poland, VX Fox from Brazil, Hyundai Getz from South Korea. Although most of the products are more or less similar, some competitors differentiated by offering many colors. Innovating in technology, like Volkswagen did by providing aluminum for the Audi, was not successful because it raised prices. Internal Environment Analysis Resource strengths: Toyota has pioneered the “lean manufacturing” practices that have given the company a decisive competitive edge in the global automobile industry. After gaining market share in North America, Toyota has entered into the European market, targeting the market for hybrid cars. Toyota has been the forerunner of technological innovation among Japanese car manufacturers that has effectively made it the most cost-effective car producer. As opposed to the cost advantage that most American and European car manufacturers derive from outsourcing of component manufacturing to low cost destinations, technological and organizational innovation has given Toyota its competitive edge (Graves, 1993). Toyota has brought its successful lean manufacturing practice to Europe. After the joint venture with PSA, the workers in the Czech factory have been trained in the just-in-time manufacturing process (Business Week, 2004). Much of the success of Toyota’s global endeavors has been in its local design and production, a strategy that it has followed both in the United States and Europe (Business Week, 2004). Half the cars sold in Europe are produced in its facilities in Britain, France and Turkey. With the joint venture with PSA, the company will supply from PSA’s facility in the Czech Republic. By 2010, the company plans to sell 1.2 million cars in Europe, the cumulative of Ford’s and Peugeot’s sales. Toyota’s European designs that are produced from its R&D unit in Nice in France are catered to the local tastes. Particularly, Yari is known to have a Latin look, the compact minivan, Corolla Verso has an avante-garde French look, and so on (Business Week, 2004). Toyota has a flat hierarchical organization structure, with decentralized decision making. The company has a bottom-up approach, with employees taking part in product development and modification as well as in other decision making. The employees wear the same uniform and take part in all company ceremonies and parties. The atmosphere of corporatism has given rise to employee empowerment, job security, and employee commitment. The “Toyota Way”, that is the organizational culture, is considered to be the key success factor for the company. The key values of Toyota Way are 1) adopting challenge, 2) Kaizen or continuous improvement, 3) Genchi Genbutsu (going to the source to correct problems), 4) respect and 5) teamwork (Toyota Vision and Strategy). The Kolin plant that manufactures the Aygo is a typical Toyota facility, although it shares two-third of the development costs along with the PSA. Toyota has imported its lean manufacturing practices and just-in-time practices, which it has established globally for many years, to this plant. Resource weakness: Toyota’s main resource weakness is the culture gap between the Japanese management and the European customer base. There is also a culture gap between the management and workers in some plants. For example, the Kolin plant faced high degree of absenteeism because workers were allotted shifts in six days in a row. Although the shifts have been changed, turnover of employees remain a problem. There are also language barriers between the workers and the expatriate managers. Besides, the regulatory environment in Europe is different and stricter than in Japan and North America, where the company has gained a strong foothold. It is yet to get over these problems. Value Chain: One of the most important issues facing an automobile manufacturer, besides market penetration, is organizing its value chain, which according to Porter (1985), is a source of competitive advantage for the company. Primary Activities According to research from McKinsey and A T Kearney, the value chain of the global automobile industry is such that value addition from production contributes 45 percent, production 18 percent, research & development 6 percent, sales & marketing 31 percent and price to consumers 100 percent. Hence, production efficiencies and cost of production, that results in the price of the product contribute to the maximum value addition. Toyota, which is the most competitive automobile manufacturer in the world in terms of production efficiencies, stands to gain from the value chain. Financial Health: In 2003, Toyota had sold 800,000 cars in Europe since the launch of Yari in 1999. Besides, the popular diesel-fuelled Yari, Prius sold 180,000 units in 2005. The same year, Toyota launched Lexus in Europe, which also proved to be immensely successful. The hybrid technology became the key technological success factor for Toyota as was the green issues addressed by the manufacturer. As a result, Toyota sold 964,000 units in 2005 when the Aygo was being launched. Being the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the world, the strong financial health of Toyota cannot be doubted. In Europe, despite its low market share as of now, it has invested Euro 6 billion since 1992 and is set to become a major force to reckon with. Price competitiveness: The Aygo is competitive in terms of prices with the other minicar models, like Peugeot and Citreon. Company strategy and goal: In Europe, Toyota has launched the Aygo in 2005 in a bid to target the young customers since the present Toyota customers has an average age of 53 and the latter customer segment has been stagnating. SWOT Analysis Strength: Toyota is the third-largest global automobile manufacturer and the largest in Japan. It is the pioneer of the “lean manufacturing” process, which all other global players now attempt to follow. Toyota is known for the reliable quality of its products and is one of the highest spenders within the industry for research and development. Corolla, one of its products, is the best selling car in Europe, having sold 20 million units in the United Kingdom (andidas, 2003). Toyota is also committed to quality management through the Total Quality Management (TQM) process. By following the four-stage Deming Cycle of “Plan-Do-Check-Act” quality control process in which the quality managers have to establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver quality, implement the process, monitor and evaluate the process so that it follows the specifications laid out, and take actions to rectify defects, Toyota has excelled in meeting, and often exceeding, customer satisfaction. Besides, Toyota has a diversified product range, including passenger cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles, and a highly targeted marketing strategy. Toyota has a regional strategy for its businesses in each of the continents, which has allowed it to succeed in North America as well as in Europe. This strategy is beneficial to the company for adapting to local tastes, government regulations and business environment. Weakness: The culture of the Japanese manufacturer is different from that of Europe. Distinguishing between cultures is not easy as there are interactions between dynamic cultures. As Hofstede notes, most countries fall between a continuum of cultural dimensions, which he categorizes in four groups: 1) Individualism vs Collectivism, 2) Power distance, 3) Masculinity vs femininity and 4) Uncertainty avoidance (consumer psychologist). Japan is in the middle of the continuum between collectivism and individualism while Europe is more individual. Japan is a more muscular country, that is, employees demonstrate a more competitive and conquering attitude while employees in Netherlands are more feminine, that is display values like harmony and environment protection. Japan ranks high in uncertainty avoidance, that is prefer structured and unambiguous rules while Europe is more risk-lovers. Japanese are particularistic, taking decisions on the basis of the situation while Europeans are universalistic, applying the same standard in all businesses. Besides the cultural differences, Toyota also has the disadvantage of being a new entrant in a market that has a long history of automobile production and its market share so far is only 4 percent (andidas, 2003). Opportunities: Toyota has been a major beneficiary of the end of quota in 2000, environmental emission norms by the European Union since it has already invested in the technology for environment-friendly cars, and the growing incomes in the East European countries. Threats: Toyota faces threat not only from the North American and European car manufacturers but also from the public transport system since many of the European countries have congested road space and commuters prefer public transport to owned vehicles. Heavy taxation, foreign exchange risks and spiraling fuel prices are the other threats that face all automobile manufacturers. Particularly with the recession in the United States and Europe has affected consumer spending, which may affect automobile purchases in the future. Strategic Issues and Problems Toyota had been a marginal player in the European automobile market till the 1990s. With the launch of the Yari, it began its march in the market and aims to get 8 percent share by 2010 (Business Week, 2004). Even as the European automobile industry shrank in the early 2000s, Toyota’s cars have been major successes, resulting in the company’s European revenues to rise 35 percent in 2003. To enter a new market and thereby evolve a winning strategy, the company needs to innovate a product. Rogers (1962) theorized the diffusion of innovation, defining innovation as a product, service or idea perceived as new by the customer. The innovation is adopted on the basis of relative advantage, compatibility, observability, trialability and complexity. While adoption is positively relative to the first four factors, the last factor has a negative impact. Consumers adopt innovation in five specific phases – by the early innovators who are a small group of people who initiate the innovation, the early adoptors, who are the initial purchasers, early majority and late majority when more customers take to the innovation and laggards who enter into the market at a late stage. Rogers (1995) found that customer behaviour in general formed a bell-shaped curve in adoption and diffusion of innovation. Despite its successes in its manufacturing processes, Toyota faces the challenge of gaining consumer perception in Europe since customers still do not see Toyota as a great brand that can compete with Peugeot and Citreon. Fern (2004, cited in Archibald, 2006) has used the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix developed in the 1960s and Hammel and Prahlad’s (1989) theories to categorize product launches in terms of market share and strategic intent of the player. The BCG Matrix correlates market share with market growth and categorizes the product as successively the Problem Child, Star, Cash Cow and Dog. Toyota has been experiencing high market growth in Europe since 2000 but it still has a low market share. Hence, it is still in the stage of a ‘problem child’. Hammel and Prahlad (1989) categorize the strategic intent as technological excellence (TE), operational excellence (OE) and customer intimacy (CI). Products are launched with high technological costs when it is done with TE. The margin requirements at this stage are extremely high to cover development costs. At the OE stage, reverse engineering is often taken resort to. Additional features may be provided at much lower costs. At the CI stage, customer requirements are incorporated into the technology. Toyota has already achieved high technological and operational excellence hence its strategic intent at present is customer intimacy. This is why Toyota engaged in aggressive marketing strategy while launching the Aygo. In order to gain customer intimacy, Toyota first set about to understand the trend among the Generation Y, that is those born after 1976, who is targeted for the minicar segment. Instead of traditional promotional activities like print advertisements and television, advertising on the internet was focused, realising that the young people spent more time online than in front of the television. Besides, young customers were found to research for products online hence interactive sites were developed where customers could communicate. Besides, even before the launch of Aygo, Toyota arranged for competitions and prizes at discotheques and rap concerts in order to develop a wavelength with the potential customer base. Ansoff (1965) matrix presented below. Risks are lowest when existing players attempt market penetration. Market development by a new player and product development by the existing player lies at the next levels of risks while diversification has the highest risks involved. Toyota is an existing player in the automobile market and the most efficient one. Hence, the risks associated with market penetration into Europe has been relatively low. Recommendation The two most crucial problems for Toyota are increasing brand awareness among the customers in Europe and bridging the culture gap among the employees. In international marketing, a major concern in the present times is whether to design advertising campaigns by keeping in mind a homogenous set of customers across cultures or to incorporate the cultural elements of the society that the product is marketing in. Levitt (1983) thinks global companies usually "operate with resolute constancy . . . as if the entire world (or major regions of it) were a single entity", postulating that the consumer preferences are not given and can be influenced by marketing strategies. More recent research has however proved that marketing campaigns need to adapt to local tastes. Toyota has adopted this strategy particularly with respect to Europe. Conclusion Thus, Toyota’s European venture has brought it success largely on the basis of the technological excellence and innovation achieved in its Japanese operations. It entered the European market at a time when the industry was stagnating in Europe and excess capacity had bogged down the local manufacturers. Toyota, with its innovative organizational and manufacturing practices, made inroads into Europe with the advantage of low-cost production processes. However, it still continues to face challenges in developing the brand in Europe although it has greatly adapted the product as well as the management practices according to European standards. Yet, much is left to bridge the cultural divide between the Japanese and the European work cultures as well as consumer intimacy with brands. 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